Tennis star Novak Djokovic on Sunday (January 16) lost his appeal against the Australian government's decision to cancel his visa for a second time and is set to be deported from the country.
The 20-time grand slam champion had been scheduled to play against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic at the Australian Open, which begins Monday. However, the defending champion's hopes of playing in the tournament were dashed after a court dismissed the top-ranked tennis star's appeal against a deportation order.
Three Federal Court judges upheld a decision made on Friday by the immigration minister to cancel the 34-year-old Serb's visa on public interest grounds.
The decision likely means that Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, will remain in detention in Melbourne until he is deported.
A deportation order usually also includes a three-year ban on returning to Australia.
The minister cancelled the visa on the grounds that Djokovic's presence in Australia may be a risk to the health and "good order" of the Australian public and "may be counterproductive to efforts at vaccination by others in Australia."
A report on sen.com.au said on Sunday that, "The hearing took four hours, with the government claiming the 34-year-old's presence in Australia would excite anti-vaccination sentiments, while Djokovic's lawyers argued that the 20-time grand slam champion was no risk to public order.
"Chief Justice James Allsop and the court came to the decision at 5:45pm (Aus time) in a unanimous verdict, while written reasons will be given at a later date," said the report.
Djokovic's visa was initially cancelled on Jan. 6 at Melbourne's airport hours after he arrived to compete in the first Grand Slam of 2022.
A border official cancelled his visa after deciding Djokovic didn't qualify for a medical exemption from Australia's rules for unvaccinated visitors.
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios expressed his frustration at the drama surrounding Djokovic's detention and his legal battle with the Australian government, saying that the world No. 1 simply wanted to play tennis and was "not doing anything to anyone".
"I'm waking up and it's just reading the media and there's something new every day. I feel like we're just trying to fight things that aren't right, it's not about the vaccination any more, it's just about him not being here on the right visa or his visa being cancelled," Kyrgios told SEN's 'No Boundaries' podcast on Sunday.
"I feel like if it's not that, it's something else. I just think it's crazy. I feel so sorry for him. Preparing for an Australian Open or grand slam is enough for someone and the pressures that he has are so unique, he's going for 21 slams, being Novak Djokovic preparing is already enough. It's an absolute s--show. How we deal with this stuff is just embarrassing. He's here to play tennis, he's not doing anything to anyone," added Kyrgios.
